Will of the Gods
by Batscribe29
Summary: The villains of the world haven't made an appearance in weeks. Then a nuclear warning hits Gotham, supposedly thanks to the Joker, but to think along those lines, with what the League is about to face, is far, far too narrow. Because when Darkseid shows up, its going to be a battle for the safety of the Earth. But who's actually fighting who?
1. A Nuclear Problem?

_A/N: This is probably the first story that I've actually taken the time to plan and mindmap and all that jazz, so please review and tell me what you think because I think this could end up being really good. I usually read the character's voices as I see them in the animated series, although this isn't based of that at all, so that's just what I'm going for._

_This chapter is merely for scene setting purposes, the real action begins in Chapter 2, but please read this any way to get it all going! Rating is going to be T for language just in case._

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**_"There was a war in heaven, and I won. Your future belongs to Darkseid now_****." - Darkseid**

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Gotham city was completely and utterly deserted. With a nuclear threat being confirmed, and sources claiming that the Joker was behind it, all civilian life had ceased and fled to the outskirts. The military had barred all access into the city with a perimeter encasing the contaminate zone completely. The only problem was, there was no explosion. No warning. No nationwide, televised 'Joker' message. Nothing. Standing at the focal point of the perimeter was General Steven Luceno of the United States Military. Beside him stood Batman, stoic as ever and gazing into his binoculars, pointed directly at the city.

"Still nothing" Genera Luceno said, "and it's been 3 hours." He looked at Batman, waiting for his response. The Dark Knight paused for a second.

"This can't be Joker. He wouldn't have gone to the trouble of acquiring a nuclear bomb and not made sure that I knew that it was him."

"And we have nothing." The General scratched his brow. In the distance, a foot soldier was sprinting towards them.

"Sir! Sir! You need to see this!" the young soldier said, handing the general an envelope. "its addressed to Batman." Batman stopped what he was doing and grabbed the envelope from the general's hands. It felt light, meaning it was merely paper. The stationary was very high quality. The handwriting was elegant, sophisticated and written in fountain pen. Batman pulled a small knife from his belt and flipped the letter over. The seal had an omega symbol stamped into it. Batman immediately put the envelope on the hood of the army truck and put his finger on his ear.

"This is Batman to all points. Code Red. Everyone available to my position, now!" Within minutes, 13 heroes had assembled alongside him; Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lanterns Hal and John, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, the Flash, Green Arrow, Zatanna, Hawkgirl, Huntress, Cyborg and Shazam. It was the best assembled team of superheroes since Braniac had invaded Star City last month.

"You think we'll be enough?" Green Arrow said, sarcastically.  
"Maybe one more, 15 is a good number to for a team." Batman said, ignoring the sarcasm entirely. He pressed his finger on his ear once more. "Batman to Nightwing, we might need you here too."

"What for?" Nightwing replied over the comm.

"We need one more person on this team and I want one of my own on this" he replied.  
"On my way. What's this about?" He asked.

"Best I tell you when you get here. Batman out."

Once Nightwing had arrived, he showed the envelope to Superman. Without a second glance, Superman scowled at the envelope and turned away from the group, clenching his fists hard enough to produce a diamond in his hand. After a few seconds, he turned around to face the group, with a look that could kill.

"Open it." Batman used his knife to slice through the seal and pulled out the paper inside. The paper read:

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**_Dear Batman,_**

**_I trust you to be the wisest of your colleagues to I have entrusted you to make the first move. I am certain that if you have not already summoned the league to read this together, you are about to._**

**_I will keep this short; I don't want to keep you waiting. If you and the other leaguers would be so kind as to make your way into Gotham and congregate at Robinson Park, you will find what you seek._**

**_Much obliged,_**

**_D_**

* * *

Batman gritted his teeth together. He knew it was a trap, so did everyone else.

"We're still going in right?" Shazam said at the back of the crowd.  
"Of course we are" replied Wonder Woman.  
"Good luck!" the general said as they all made their way into the deserted city.

Robinson Park, much like the rest of Gotham at that moment, was very quiet. Huntress and Green Arrow covered the rooftops whilst Superman and the two lanterns hovered overhead. The rest of the leaguers were in the middle of the park, gathered around a round object. It looked like the computer terminal on the Watchtower, but it was black and red instead of blue, and it was hovering.

"I expected more" said a calm Martian Manhunter. Batman took out a scanner from his belt and examined the 'orb'.  
"It's covered in tachyons." Batman said, backing away slightly. The rest of the group did as Batman did, knowing that if he backs away from something, it really isn't something to mess with.  
"Tacky-what?" Huntress said, puzzled due to her lack of scientific knowledge.

"Tachyons are very rare and volatile particles that can travel through space, even through different dimensions. They could even take us with them when they next travel."

"Or bring something here," Batman interrupted. There was a silence that fell over the league while they contemplated their next move.

"At least we have something to do now. It's been over a week since any of us had anything big to deal with." Cyborg joked. Batman gave him a look as if to say _'not the best time'. _

Suddenly the orb started to hum and whirr erratically. Superman shot down to protect the others from harm, but a beam shot out and up into the sky. The energy beam seemed to hit a point and then it started to spread out.

"It's a force-field." Flash said. Then another beam shot out and hit the floor. It then rose, slowly revealing the being behind it; first a set of coal black boots and culminating in the gargantuan head of Darkseid. Superman immediately lunged for him, but John Stewart sent a green rope construct to pull him back.  
"Easy Kal" He said, as Superman restrained himself.  
"Greetings Justice League," the booming voice said.

"Darkseid." Superman said, almost snarling.

"Please Kal-El, don't flatter yourself. I am not here for only you." Darkseid said with an arrogant tone. "As the most powerful being in the galaxy, I am not often challenged. However, I am always open to anyone who can try."

"So you've come to fight us again? For sport" Batman said angrily.

"Oh no" Darkseid laughed. You won't be fighting me." Darkseid then raised his hand, and a third beam struck the floor beside him. "I'm sure Highfather has told you of Takion?" Darkseid said smugly. Superman suddenly looked very worried.

"I have harnessed his atomic shapeshifting powers to construct a tournament in my honour. You should be proud that I have chosen Earth as the battleground!"

The third beam then revealed Takion, standing in his golden suit of New Genesis armour, shackled and restrained. Darkseid then put his hand on his shoulder and Takion screamed in agony. A light shot out that blinded the leaguers. Batman shielded himself in his cape. The Green Lanterns protected everyone else in a giant bubble, but all efforts failed and they all were bluntly knocked into unconsciousness.

The first to awake was Shazam, who found himself and the other heroes in what looked like a military bunker. There was dirt and leaves everywhere, and the only source of light was an open door at the top of a flight of stairs. Shazam scratched his head and pondered waking the others up. He decided to investigate the door. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he couldn't believe what he saw. Gotham was a complete wasteland, broken buildings everywhere, no sign of any life. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a new building in the distance. It was Wayne Manor, except this twisted image was no playboy manor house; this was Darkseid's throne room; fiery pillars and statues in Darkseid's honour. As he turned around, he heard something that even with the courage of Achilles, made him jump.

"SHAZAM!"

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_A/N: So what did you think? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! I'll be bringing in some reader voting in later chapters so stick around!_


	2. Let the Games Begin

_A/N: So I decided to get straight into the second chapter seeing as it was so fun writing the first one. I hope you enjoyed it. As before, please keep reviewing and feel free to give any ideas/character requests and I'll see what I can do._

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Shards or electricity flew across the sky, as Black Adam laid punch after punch onto Shazam. Shazam didn't know and didn't have the capacity to figure out why his nemesis was here, but that wasn't his main concern. Adam threw a wild, uncontrolled haymaker at Shazam, who countered and grabbed Adam's fist. He then swung his arm back and landed a shocking gut punch, winding Adam and giving him enough time to shout "SHAZAM!" and turn Adam, temporarily, back into his human form. As Shazam carried the Khandaq prince to a safe rooftop, he thought he should go and check on the others. Flying back to the bunker, he found it to be empty. He looked around the entrance and the surrounding area and found no trace of anyone moving. Then suddenly something hit him in the back and Shazam and the mysterious, bulky object fell down the flight of stairs into the bunker. As he peeled his face off the floor, he realised that he had been hit by Batman.

"You okay Br...?"

"Don't" Batman interrupted, "be stupid." He gave him a glare as the light from the doorway was blocked by a large figure.

"I am glad the payaso didn't find you first, Batman," said Bane as he grabbed Batman by the leg and threw him outside as if he were a ragdoll. Batman threw out his cape to cushion his landing and grabbed a batarang from his belt.

"What are you doing here, Bane?" Batman said as he moved towards the masked foe.  
"I have absolutely no idea, but when I woke up, I realised I was in Gotham, so I went out to see what I could find." As soon as Bane moved forward, he took a swift elbow to the back from Shazam, who had found his feet and stepped in to save his friend.  
"I didn't need your help" Batman said, holstering his batarang. "We need to get to what's left of Wayne Tower, now." The two sped off towards the crumpled Waynetech sign in the distance.

Underneath the sign was Superman, who had just punched Bizarro the roof of the force-field that still encompassed the city. Midway through dusting his hands confidently, he saw Deathstroke about to ambush Green Arrow, who was midway through fighting Solomon Grundy. As he flew towards the masked assailant, he was tackled by another foe.

"Stay on the ground where you belong, son of Jor-El," said Zod who stood up and readied himself.

"What in Rao's name are _you _doing here?" He asked as he stood up.

"I woke up in a bunker with the rest of these fools. I figured it might be something to do with you."

As Zod started to block the incoming wave of punches from Superman, the two Green Lanterns flew overhead, chasing Sinestro and Atrocitus.

"Hey Hal," John Stewart said, "Remember when we played baseball on Oa?"  
"Damn right" Hal replied with a smirk. John sped up and cut off the two fleeing lanterns and put them both in a green light ball construct. Hal then constructed a giant baseball and hit the two trapped attackers into the nearby building.

Just coming into view was Zatanna, who had been thrown into the area by Circe. Circe would have been dealing with her sister if Cheetah hadn't already got there first. They were closely followed by two speedsters throwing punches at each other at the speed of sound. Flash had fought Zoom many times before and this was no different. Martian Manhunter had already dealt with Star Sapphire and had brought her to safety before giving Huntress and Hawkgirl a hand in taking down Gorilla Grodd.

The two Teen Titans members were taking down the Joker and Harley Quinn. Joker was a tad annoyed that Bane had reached Batman first, but the boy blunder would do nicely. Harley threw a contraption onto Cyborg who froze.  
"Damn! My circuits are stuck." He said, looking at Nightwing. Nightwing however was a veteran in taking down the Clown and his girlfriend. Just as he was about to swing his bow staff, the giant news screen on the side of the 1st Gotham National Bank lit up.

"Greetings to all of you," said Darkseid as his face filled up the screen. "You will all be wondering what is going to happen, so I'll be blunt. Having found that the Justice League assembled 15 of its members, I then assembled 15 of its greatest adversaries. The format is simple: There will be 8 rounds of which you will be tested. These will happen once a day. The members of the losing side will face elimination individually. Between each round, any physical injuries will be healed thanks to the radiation exerted by the force-field. I didn't choose that, it's just Takion trying to fight back. Unless the format of the round states otherwise, elimination is take through knockout, death, or should you pass through one of the 5 elimination gates spread around the city. Let it be noted that the location of these gates will change every round."

Everyone in the clearing had stopped fighting and was looking in utter amazement at each other. Not a word was said. "The first round begins now. There are 30 of you on the battle field. The first two to be eliminated from a side are permanently eliminated. BEGIN!"

There was a brief second of confusion before Sinestro rose up from the rubble he was under and threw a punch at Hal Jordan. Taking that as the starting pistol, the other 28 participants erupted into chaos; punches being thrown, bullets and batarangs flying in every direction. The first to fall was Cheetah, found herself wrapped in Wonder Woman's lasso and swung against a wall; 1-0 to the heroes. Batman was using serrated batarangs to combat Deathstroke's sword.

"You could just back down Slade," Batman taunted.

"Not in a million years" Deathstroke replied as he lunged at the caped crusader. Next the heroes lost a member, Aquaman, who had been watching tactically from a rooftop, had finally decided to enter the battle. He was met by Zod who countered his first punch as laid him flat out in seconds; 1-1.

Then things really started to heat up. Bizarro and Superman were having a freeze breath vs. fire breath battle, Batman had Deathstroke in a headlock and Flash was playing 'matador' with Zoom.

The interesting match-up was between Joker and Hawkgirl. Hawkgirl had been swinging her mace at Joker, who had rolled and dodged out of the way every time. She then went for a direct face lunge, to which he moved to the side.

"Over here, feathers!" he cackled, as he squirted acid onto her Nth metal belt, breaking the link and removing her from her powers. He then chopped her on the neck and she fell to the ground.

"And that would be 2-1." Darkseid's voice rang out through the arena. "Hawkgirl and Aquaman are permanently eliminated and shall be in containment."

"What does that mean?" said Wonder Woman.

"None of your concern, Amazon" Darkseid replied, "back to your bunkers."

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_A/N: So there's round one. There was some things that I wanted to put in there, but didn't have time, so they'll be the start of Chapter 3. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! _


	3. Embrace your Inhibitions

_A/N: Once again, a quick upload after the previous chapter! Hope you like it as always. REVIEW!_

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Back in the bunkers, the heroes and villains were passing the time until the next challenge. Since they weren't allowed outside their bunkers, things were getting pretty tiresome. In the heroes' camp, Hal had constructed chess sets with his ring and Batman was playing John, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow and Wonder Woman all at the same time. He was winning all 4.  
"How the hell are we supposed to beat you? You have an IQ 150!" Green Arrow shouted as he kicked the wall at the sight of a checkmate.  
"Don't be such a bad loser, Ollie." Batman said. It had become normal in the camp for their real first names to be used.

"I still don't fully understand the rules." Wonder Woman said, trying to play off the fact that she fully knew the rules and just was horrific at it. J'onn didn't say anything. He respected the rules and therefore didn't use telepathy to see what Batman's next move was. He merely moved his Bishop diagonally forward 2 spaces.

"Check" he said, still emotionless from thought. John, meanwhile, was mumbling to himself about the possible moves that Batman could make.  
"If I move the bishop to... then he'd... then I could sacrifice the pawn... but only if he then..." He probably wasn't even making sense to himself. He finally mustered up the courage to move his queen forward 2 spaces. Without even looking at the board, Batman moved his knight into position.  
"Checkmate." John's head sank into his hands. "I believe we settled on two hundred?"

Whilst Batman destroyed his chess opponents, Superman took the time to examine his surroundings properly. The walls were lined with lead so his x-ray vision was useless. All there was in this dingy bunker was a stairwell to the door and a few flat, wall-mounted table-like objects that could also be used as makeshift beds, he thought. But what really played on his mind was what happened to Hawkgirl and Aquaman. Where were they? One thing he knew for certain; they weren't safe.

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Over in the Villains camp, Joker and Grodd were playing cards. Solomon Grundy and Bizarro had apparently become 'best friends' and were talking nonsense about ponies and cheese. Deathstroke was sharpening his sword on the wall and the rest were taking the time to sleep.

"I'll raise you, monkey-boy." Joker said with a cackle. He stared at the cards on the table: 8 of Diamonds, 9 of Diamonds, 10 or Diamonds, 10 of Hearts, 10 of Spades.

"I'm an ape." Grodd said with a sigh. "Are you really that stupid?" He called Joker's bet and turned his cards over. "Full House, 10s over 9s" Grodd smirked.

"Four 10s" Joker said as he collected his prize. Just as Grodd reached his hand over to grab Joker by the throat, a screen lowered from the ceiling of the bunker. Unsurprisingly, Darkseid's face showed up on the screen.  
"Good Morning. Today marks the second round of 8. Before I reveal today's format, I believe it only fair to let you know that I have gathered some... enforcers" he said, as he turned away from the camera to show the row of beings behind him. "You, no doubt, are familiar with all of them; Doomsday, Mongul, Ares, Ultraman and Amazo. They are here solely to prevent you from breaking my rules."

The Justice League, who were seeing this too, were planning their next move.  
"That's quite a team." Flash said, almost complementing them. Darkseid then turned back to the computer.  
"Back to the matter at hand; Round 2 is as follows: I have selected 3 members from each team to go head to head. However, you will each be limited somewhat."

"Oh shit." Green Arrow said. They all knew that it was as bad as it sounded.

"The selections are" Darkseid continued. "Deathstroke, you are to leave your guns in the bunker."

"A minor problem" Slade said as he placed his sub-machine guns on the floor and headed for the exit.  
"Bane, I'm sure you can guess what I will deprive you of." Darkseid smirked.  
"Of course, demonio" Bane said, unclipping the venom strand on his wrist. The effects were instantaneous. His muscles deteriorated, his height actually got smaller. When the evidently painful process had finished, he had the build of Batman; formidable, but by no means meta-human.

"Finally, Miss Quinzel, would you kindly step outside? Mongul is waiting for you. She looked at Joker, as a child asks for its parent's approval.  
"Well go on then!" Joker said nonchalantly, ushering her with his hand. As she walked out of the door, there was a hush in the bunker; the anticipation of what Mongul was called in for had the entire group open-eared. There was a dead silence.

"Hey! What are you..." was all Harley could mister before the sound of breaking bone echoed through the bunker.

"Was that really necessary?" Sinestro muttered, as he scratched his chin.

Over in the heroes' bunker, Superman was getting restless.  
"Get on with it!" he said as he slammed his fist against the wall, nearly tearing it down in the process.

"Very well," Darkseid didn't like to be rushed; it made him feel as if he wasn't in control. "Green Arrow, leave your bow behind. Flash, you will have your hands tied behind your back."

"As if that will stop me," Flash said as he rubbed his hands together readily, "who's third?"

"Hal Jordan" Darkseid smiled menacingly. "Remove your power ring."

"Are you out of your mind?" Hal said, jumping out of his seat, his face crinkled with anger.

"Quite the contrary, begin!" Darkseid said as the screen went blank.

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Out on the battlefield, the combatants had assembled on opposing sides. Deathstroke had drawn his sword, Bane was cracking his knuckles and Harley was nursing a broken leg.

On the other side, stood Green Arrow; practicing a few moves, Flash; fidgeting with the uncomfortable ropes binding his hands, and Hal Jordan; looking fairly nervous and feeble without his ring. Both sides had taken the tactical decision of sending out one member at a time. The heroes sent out Green Arrow, who was met with Bane. Without saying anything they engaged each other; Arrow swinging in with a roundhouse kick and Bane blocking with the elbow. Bane then tried a sweep kick to which Arrow flipped over cleanly. As he landed, Bane hit an elbow strike into the middle of Arrow's back and followed with a jab to the back of the head. As Arrow turned round, he made the mistake of throwing an uncontrolled punch, which was easily caught by Bane. With Arrow's fist in his hand, he twisted the arm, kicked the knee and finally brought his elbow down onto the arm. It was evident that the bone had been broken thanks to a protruding lump on Arrow's forearm. To finish his opponent; Bane merely head butted Arrow, who fell to the floor. 0-1.

Surprisingly, the next villain to venture out was Harley, who had used her wits (or what was left of them) and started to walk on her hands. She was met by Flash, who zipped in and hooked her arms out from under her with his leg. As she got up, Flash kicked her in the gut and gave a knee to the chin. 1-1.  
"Didn't want to do too much damage" he said confidently as he walked back to his teammate.

It was all down to a powerless Hal Jordan versus a meta-human mercenary with a sword and a lot of expertise.

As Hal walked forwards, he didn't look so nervous anymore. Deathstroke merely swung his sword impressively and readied himself for an immediate killing stroke. At about 5 feet apart, Hal stopped and looked at Slade.  
"Come on then" he said calmly. Slade stepped forward and aimed for Hal's neck. Hal stepped to the side, and the blade missed him entirely. Slade felt very strange; only 3 humans had ever anticipated that. He grabbed the blade handle with both hands and was about to swing again, when Hal kicked him in the groin. He then clenched his hands together and brought them down on the back of Slade's head. 2-1.

"And the round is over!" Darkseid's voice boomed over the arena, "The three villains are permanently eliminated." The screen went blank and the 3 villains were teleported away.

As they walked back to the bunker, Flash pulled back Hal.  
"How did you even anticipate that, Hal?" He asked.

"Bats told me Slade's tactics a month ago, back when the Suicide Squad was sent to kill us? Clever bastard worked it out in one fight." Flash laughed at him.

"If he can do that after one fight, imagine what he knows about the rest of the league." Flash suddenly realised the serious undertones of what he just said and his expression dropped.  
"That's Bats for you." Hal said, as he patted him on the back. "Good job Barry."

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_A/N: So there is Round 2 and chapter 3 over with! With the days now returning to the work-day format, uploads will be a little slower. I'll try and get a chapter up every 2 days or so, depending on how much my workload is. NOW- in my next chapter, I would like to have some input from you guys. So, if you could review or PM me your vote for who you would like to see eliminated AND who you would like to see feature in the next round, I'll do my best to incorporate the ideas. Also, if anyone has a cameo idea, I'd be happy to listen. As always please review and tell your friends, if you liked it!_


	4. Joke's on You, Monkey Boy!

_A/N: So sorry for the lack of updating, had my birthday and work to deal with, now is the first bit of free time I've had in a while. Well, in terms of my vote, the replies I've had back have told me to make my own choices, so thank you all for having faith in me to make the right decisions! As I said in the last chapter, it'll be a chapter every day/2 days or so. Up comes round 3. Enjoy!_

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Once again, the need to pass the time became quite a challenge. During the night, Darkseid had sent a message out saying that everyone was free to roam the city. There was, of course, no escape from the force-field and Darkseid's 'fortress' at Wayne Manor was pretty much impenetrable.

Batman, being Batman, decided to survey the area, seeing as the shock of Darkseid's arrival had laid out the surrounding area and distorted the landscape somewhat. There was debris everywhere. Standing on top of the wreckage of Amertek Industries, he could see an absolute wasteland; lifeless and chaotic. Whilst staring at his binoculars, Nightwing walked up beside him.  
"Anything interesting?" He asked.

"I want to know what he's done to my house." Batman replied. He gritted his teeth slightly. "He's got his enforcers stationed outside; wouldn't bother trying to get in there."  
"What do you think this is all about? I mean there must be some kind of goal here, he can't be doing this for fun." Dick looked confused. "Does he even know what fun is?"

"He's a god from a planet that sits in between the physical universe and hell, and he's more close to the latter. Does that answer your question?" Batman said. Dick looked slightly surprised. He'd fought the most dangerous humans on an almost daily basis; he'd faced demons and aliens, but not gods. Batman put his hand on Nightwing's shoulder. "Don't worry, the league has beaten him before, we'll beat him again." Batman nearly gave him a smile, but that would, of course, go against the laws of nature.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the bunker, Flash was trying to tell jokes to the others. He was on his sixth joke, meaning that Green Arrow had already smashed a 6 inch dent into the wall... with his own head.

"And he said 'nice of you to drop in'." Flash said with an exuberant smile. Martian Manhunter started to laugh, thinking it was the right thing to do, then immediately realised the lack of amusement on the other people's faces. "Come on guys?" Flash said, slightly red faced. Saving Flash from more humiliation, the screen once again popped down from the ceiling.

"Good Morning, I have chosen today's contest to start early. It will be in the format of what I understand is known as a 'capture the flag' match."

"Aw sweet!" Flash said. "It'll take me half a second." The others looked distinctly pleased with this challenge.  
"There will however be some stipulation; there are no elimination gates and Flash and Zoom are barred from competing." The expression of everyone in both camps practically hit the floor. "The participants will be as follows; Joker and Grodd will helm the villains' fight, whilst Cyborg and Huntress will be fighting for the heroes."

"Alright, I've been waitin' to get out there and kick some ass." Cyborg said as he stood up, cracking his knuckles and readying himself. Huntress gave a hug to Zatanna and Wonder Woman before leaving.

* * *

Out on the battlefield the fight had become rather slow because neither side had found the flag. Both sides, although restless, were nonetheless prepared. Having made his way to an ammunition store, Joker was flaunting a rather large assault rifle. As the two villains walked out into the open area, he kissed the barrel lovingly.  
"Joker, you disgust me." Grodd groaned as he turned away.  
"Glad I'm doing my job right, monkey-boy" He cackled back.  
"For the last time, I'm an ape!" Grodd turned to Joker and stood tall, puffing out his chest to extend his already gargantuan size.

"Alright, alright, calm down! Here, have a banana!" Joker held out a banana that he'd kept in his pocket. Grodd beat his chest, slapped the banana out of Joker's hand and glared at him menacingly.  
"Okay... you're not hungry." Joker said, walking off. Just as he turned a corner, he stopped and hugged the wall by the side of him. He ushered Grodd to come over and join him. Without saying anything, he pointed around the corner. Grodd poked his head around to catch a glimpse. Standing in the middle of the street were Cyborg and Huntress running into an alleyway.

"Wonder where they're going?" Joker said with a frightening grin.  
"Let's find out" Grodd replied. "You're not going to like this." He said to Joker, before picking him up and climbing up the side of the building.

As Cyborg and Huntress came out of the alley, they both smiled at each other. Sitting on a bench was the flag, rolled up and leant against the armrest. Cyborg laughed as he ran over to get it, whilst Huntress took the time to rest; they'd been running for hours. Cyborg picked up the flag; _this was easy, _he thought, _too easy_. He turned around to see Huntress, held in a bearhug by Grodd, whilst Joker nonchalantly groomed his fingernails.

"I'll have that flag now, Tin Man." He said, extending his pale, white hand.

"Over my cold dead body" Cyborg replied, clenching a fist.

"Oh good, we're in agreement!" Joker said cheerfully as he pulled a knife from his a jacket. Grodd, sensing that his cohort was in need of some fighting power, clenched his bearhug on Huntress so that she lost consciousness and dropped her like a sack of potatoes. Cyborg shot a phaserbeam at Joker, who dodged out of the way. Grodd leapt into the fray, thundering Cyborg with ferocious punches to the gut and finishing with an uppercut that dazed the circuits of the hero. Just as Cyborg was about to retaliate, a hand reached around and covered his mouth. "Night night!" Joker cackled, as Cyborg smelt the Joker toxin and fell to the ground. "I'll take that" he said as he pulled the flag out of the still clasped hand of the fallen Cyborg.

As Joker and Grodd were walking back to their bunker, Grodd was hit in the back with another phaserbeam. Joker, turning around, saw a weakened Cyborg.  
"You mind givin' me the flag? Imma little pissed off so don't try anything." Cyborg said, approaching he clown and the downed ape. Joker held out the flag willingly. Just as Cyborg's hand was about to touch the flag, Joker halted him.

"Now I could give you the flag, but on the other hand..." Joker's free hand suddenly clasped around Cyborg's wrist, electrocuting him with the concealed Joybuzzer. Cyborg fell to his knees; the shock temporarily leaving him unable to move. Joker threw the flag backwards to Grodd, who had composed himself. The clown then put his hand on Cyborg's shoulder and whispered to him "have a good elimination, Tin Man." With that, he stood up sharply, turned on his heels and walked briskly back to the bunker. "Come along, Monkey Boy!" Joker ordered. Grodd was about to retort, but thought better of it and merely sighed as he started walking. Joker waltzed around on his way, humming 'La Vie en Rose' and looking slightly happier than usual, which even for his teammates was a very bad thing.

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_A/N: So there's round 3, will try and get another chapter up soon, but as the last week has shown, I wouldn't hold me to it. As always, Review Review Review! _


	5. Bunker Business

_A/N: Another mini-hiatus, but I'm on an official holiday from the world of Academia so I can relax and put some time into this. I think that, because they received such a good reception in the reviews, this chapter will consist entirely of 'Bunker Business' (yes, I'm naming it that.) I'm aiming to have a fair share between camps, but if that doesn't work out, I'll make it up to you later! Please Review as always!_

* * *

"Grundy the pretty one!"

"Bizarro the pretty one!"

"GRUNDY THE PRETTY ONE!" This confrontation between the two 'less intelligent' members of the villain camp had been going on for half an hour. What was surprising was that they were arguing for each other.  
"Bizarro the pretty one!" Said Grundy, "Bizarro have nice hair." He pointed to Bizarro's mangled hair, with a glum, dead-eyed stare.

"Grundy think so?" Bizarro said, surprised at Grundy.

"You're both gorgeous!" said Star Sapphire, "now, would you shut up!"

"Sorry" they both said in unison, their faces drooping as they both sat down. The members of the camp were, once again, pretty damn bored. Darkseid had given the two camps a day's rest, he didn't say why, but they all knew that it wasn't generosity at work. With the doors still open for them to roam around, those villains who decided to stay were running out of options. Still left in the bunker were Grundy, Bizarro, Sapphire, Zod and Joker. Sapphire was trying desperately to get some sleep – she hadn't had the best night bunking with Cheetah. Joker was trying to hypnotise Zod with his pocket-watch, but that too was failing.  
"You're getting sleepy. Listen to the sound of my voice." Joker said, swinging the watch from side to side. "Soon you will fall into a deep, deep sleep."

"Oh I sincerely hope so." Zod said, slumping his head in his hands. "Can we please do something different?"

"We could go outside and play?" Joker said, jumping in the air, bursting with excitement; like a 6 year old on Christmas day. "Can we? Please? Please? Pleasepleaseplease?"

"And do what exactly?" Zod said, raising an eyebrow.

"I could draw a hopscotch course?" Joker said, imitating a hopscotch-like action with his fingers.

"No."  
"Double-Dutch?"

"No."  
"Hide and Seek?"

"X-Ray Vision."  
"Tag?"

"No."

"Catch?"

"With what?"

"Could you teach me how to fight?" said Joker, clenching a fist. Zod was just about to say 'no' when we paused. Tactically, it might be useful to teach some of the lesser skilled members how to perform and subsequently avoid attacks.

"For once, that's not a bad idea." Zod replied, standing up and walking over to the stairs. The expression that lit up Joker's face was a mixture of joy and maniacal pleasure, and was far beyond creepy.

Outside, the two stood facing each other, Joker rolling up his sleeves and holding his fists ready.  
"Now Joker, I want you to throw a punch at me." Zod said, standing perfectly controlled, as if he knew the position of each individual muscle of his body. The clown leapt forward and swung a crazy right-hand at Zod who, without using his yellow sun gained abilities, stepped aside and watched as his 'student' hit the ground on his follow through. "Do you see why that failed?" Zod asked.  
"Because you moved?" Joker said, peeling himself off of the floor.

"No, because you were too predictable; something I heard that you were apparently good at." As Joker brushed himself off, Zod pointed at him. "The reason I moved was because you were predictable. If you're predictable, then the heroes will beat you." His pointed hand clenched into a full fist.

"Well, I disproved that yesterday, did I not?" Joker said with a small giggle. Zod's face turned scarlet.

"YOU THINK THIS IS ALL A JOKE! YOU THINK EVERYTHING IS A JOKE! HOW ARE YOU EVEN ALIVE?!" Zod rushed and grabbed Joker by the throat. Raising his hand to punch a hole through the clown's head, he paused and considered his actions. He stopped, and pulled Joker close.

"If we get out of this, and I see you again, I will throw you into space."  
"Ooh! Can you aim for Jupiter?" Zod grabbed Joker with two hands and threw him back into the bunker, breaking off the door in the process. Star Sapphire looked up and groaned.

"Great," she said, "how are we going to keep the cold out now?" Joker giggled, laid his head back, and sighed.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Heroes' camp was much more vibrant. Green Arrow was sharpening his arrows... again. Batman and Superman were out somewhere. It was around 2am, everyone was sleeping, except Nightwing and Martian Manhunter.

"So he adopted you then?" J'onn said.  
"Yeah, he tried to keep the Bat-secret hidden from me, but I got kinda nosey and found the Batcave entrance by myself. I think he had half a mind to send me away again." Nightwing laughed. He hadn't spoken to J'onn on anything that wasn't mission-related.  
"I'm sure Batman wouldn't do that. I don't have to read his mind to know that he isn't that heartless."

"I know that, he's been like a second father to me. No-one could every replace my real dad, but Bruce has done a stellar job. I owe him everything."  
"Have you ever told him this?" J'onn asked.

"Oh hell no; he'd never let me, he needs to keep up his stoic reputation." Nightwing chuckled at the though. He turned to J'onn, who had morphed into Batman.  
"I may seem scary," he said, imitating Batman's voice perfectly, "but I'm actually a softy who likes jelly and butterflies and dancing." The two tried to keep their laughing down so to not wake the others.  
"For the record," came Batman's voice in the doorway. The two stood up, J'onn morphed quickly back into his hero form. "I hate jelly." Nightwing and J'onn both looked at each other and tried not to laugh again. As Batman walked down the stairs from the door, Superman followed behind.

"You two should get some rest," he said, "If Darkseid's given us a day's grace, and he's planning something big for the next round..."

"You'll need to stop laughing at get to sleep." Batman interjected. Batman realised that he'd spoken too loudly. Shazam raised his head from the floor, one eye half open and still very tired.

"Go back to sleep, Billy" Superman said, folding his arms. Shazam rested his head back onto his makeshift pillow, made from his cape, and drifted back off to sleep. As J'onn and Nightwing turned in themselves for the night, Batman and Superman walked back outside and stood in the doorway; Superman leant against the doorframe and Batman pulled his cape around himself. The two looked out at the moonlit wasteland that was Gotham.

"It's going to be big tomorrow," said Superman.

"It may take everybody. I don't like this situation." Batman said, looking at what Darkseid had done to his house.  
"At least we've had a day to prepare for it."

"No, I mean this whole situation; being forced into a competition, seemingly for Darkseid's amusement. If that was his sole purpose, then why did he only choose to capture Gotham? Why not take the entire planet? He's certainly capable of it?" Batman turned to face Superman. "He's planning something bigger, Clark. You know it as well as I do."

"We'll stop him, don't worry. I mean in the end, he's still got us to go up against. We've beaten him before." Batman paused before retorting.

"We might not be the only ones he needs to worry about." Batman said as he turned back into the bunker.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Superman followed him. "Bruce?"

* * *

_A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you were angling for the next round, fear not; It's on its way!_

_PLEASE REVIEW!_


	6. Bat in the Belfry

_A/N: Back to the competition! Hope you enjoyed the 'Bunker Business' but we're back to the real stuff now! Now, I'm kinda running out of ideas for each round so if you have any, don't be afraid to PM me! As always, REVIEW!_

* * *

Across both bunkers, the sound of Darkseid's voice boomed throughout, resonating in their minds as they awoke by it.  
"Your rest is over." Flash rubbed his head as he sat up. "As you may notice, once of your teammates is missing." The leaguers all looked around, looking for who might be missing.

"He's right." John Stewart said.  
"Yeah" said Flash, "where's Bats?" A flash of white shot across their faces; he may only be human, but he was arguably the most valuable member of the team; and he was gone.

"The person you are missing is hidden somewhere in the city. 2 of you will be released to find them. The first team to return with their captured comrade will win. The losing 2 will be eliminated." The team shuffled around, all of them looking edgy, waiting to hear which ones of them would be competing. "Green Arrow and Zatanna, you will be searching for Batman. Good Luck."

Over in the villains' bunker, the group was deciding who was going to be sent to recover Sinestro.

"Circe and Atrocitus; Good luck." This bunker looked a lot more pleased with the selection.

"We've already won!" Joker shouted, throwing confetti from his pockets. "You just cast a search...spell...thingy. You'll find him in no time!" Before anyone else could add to Joker's brilliantly worded pep talk, Darkseid spoke again.

"You're challenge has been set. Begin!"

* * *

Out on the battlefield, Circe and Atrocitus stood on a rooftop. Circe was repeatedly trying to cast a spell to illuminate the location of Sinestro.

"Why is this not working?" she said, frustrated by her lack of success. Atrocitus huffed at her and flew up, shining his Red Lantern ring around for any signs of life. Suddenly his ring flashed brighter.

"Signs of life detected" it spoke as it illuminated the direction of the unknown life-form.

"Easy." Atrocitus laughed as he followed the path of light. Circe flashed a look of contempt before following him, reluctantly. As the two approached the source of the life-form, they realised that they were being lead into the sewers. Circe tried to shoot a fireball at the hinges to the sewer entrance. She failed. Atrocitus rolled his eyes. "Useless." Out from his ring came a claw that ripped the door off the wall and threw it behind them. As they both stepped into the sewer, they realised that the life-form had stopped moving.

"Are you sure this is Sinestro?" Circe asked. Atrocitus gritted his teeth.

"It better be." The rushed towards their target, but found a locked door in the way. Circe raised her hands to try a spell. Atrocitus raised his hand to stop her. "I've got this." He said, as he jumped up and kicked the door square off its hinges.

"NO!" shouted a voice in the dark room ahead. Inside the room was a man, dressed in a ripped shirt and shorts. He sat, quivering in the corner. "Don't hurt me! I've been trapped in here for days!"

Atrocitus looked at Circe and grinned.

"You know, I haven't eaten in hours." He said as he advanced towards the screaming man. "He's a little thin, but he'll do." Circe backed away, leaving Atrocitus to his meal and carried on with the search.

* * *

As for the heroes, Zatanna was having the same magical malfunction problems that Circe was facing. Green Arrow on the other hand had no disadvantage; this was merely a routine search and rescue mission for him, and he had no problem in letting Zatanna knowing it.  
"This is routine for me!" he shouted over his shoulder. Zatanna rolled her eyes, trying to keep up with him. Although she was physically fit, she still had a hard time keeping up with him.

"For the fourth time, Ollie, I know." Suddenly he stopped running. Zatanna very nearly collided with him if she hadn't been paying attention. He stared at his heat seeking satellite system and saw that 3 readings were coming from the Gotham University Auditorium just ahead.

As they entered the Auditorium, it became abundantly clear as to what their challenge really was.

In the middle of the hall were Batman and Sinestro, chained to upright tables. Batman had lost his utility belt, whilst Sinestro was missing his power ring. All seemingly simple... that was until they saw Ultraman standing in between them, arms folded, with an arrogant, cocky expression on his face.

"So, which one are you after?" He said, his voice booming throughout the room.

"I think we'll leave Forehead for someone else." Green Arrow said, running towards Batman. Just before he got to him, Ultraman fired his heat vision in front of Green Arrow's feet.  
"Whoa! Hold your horses there, Robin Hood." Ultraman said, putting himself in between Arrow and Batman.

"Haha," Arrow said, laughing sarcastically, "Never heard that one before." Ultraman pushed Arrow back; he landed on top of Zatanna.  
"Glad to break your fall," she groaned, "Care to get off of me now?"

"Sorry." Arrow stood up and fired an arrow at Ultraman. Mid-air, the arrow exploded and fired an electrified net at Ultraman. It entangled him, but he stood firm, and ripped the net apart with one hand.  
"You'll have to do _a lot _better than that, thank you very much." Ultraman smirked. Arrow then had a thought, it wasn't a nice thought, but it would work. He turned around to face Zatanna.  
"Don't tell Clark about this." He turned back around and pulled out another arrow. This one however was different; the arrow head was glowing. Taking care not to kill him, he shot it into Ultraman's knee. Instantly, Ultraman fell to the ground, clutching his wound.

"Kryptonite? Where the hell did you get that?" Zatanna shouted.

"I gave it to him" said Batman. "All of the original 7 are given access to Kryptonite. However, with Green Arrow being a merely human, like myself, I gave him some just in case."

"Are you that distrusting of Superman?" Zatanna said.  
"No. I'm planning for every possible outcome. No would you get me out of this?" The two heroes untied Batman's chains. Zatanna spotted Batman's utility belt placed in the stands.

As the three moved out of the Auditorium back door, they heard the front doors crash behind them.

Atrocitus and Circe burst into the room and say the aftermath of what had transpired. Batman, Zatanna and Green Arrow left the auditorium to the tune of Atrocitus' angered screaming.

* * *

Later, at dusk, Batman and Zatanna were standing outside.

"So you have contingency plans for everything?" Zatanna asked.

"Yes. I have records on everyone in the league, including what to do if they ever decide to go against the league, even myself."

"Well, if it's one thing we can count on you to be, it's being thorough."  
"You can count on me for much more than that." He almost let out a smile. "Come on, I think they're playing chess again."

* * *

_A/N: So there's another chapter! I'll try to get the next one up fairly soon. Thanks for reading and as always, please review!_


	7. Suffering Losses

_A/N: Back again! Just to give a brief time scale, I have about 4 more rounds planned and then I'll spend about 2 chapters giving a fitting closure. No hints as to what it is because I don't want to spoil it, but I didn't want you all to think that this was going to drag on. As always – PLEASE REVIEW! It really helps me see what you all think and gives me that extra bit of confidence and enthusiasm that I sometimes need! Anyway – ENJOY!_

* * *

The crash thundered across the battlefield, as Wonder Woman was thrown into the side of a building by Mongul. Behind him, Hal Jordan was preparing a hard-light hammer to bring down on him. Mongul grabbed Wonder Woman by the throat and held her against the rubble. She clasped around his gigantic hands, then ushered Mongul to look behind himself. As he did, the hammer hit him square in the jaw and he relinquished his grip on Wonder Woman to throw a rage induced haymaker right as Hal. A few feet away, Flash was helping up Nightwing, who had taken a large knock at the start of the fight. In today's round, Darkseid had setup each side with 4 combatants to fight against one of his enforcers. He had originally planned for Ultraman to be involved, but thanks to Green Arrow, he was temporarily out of action. The aim for each team was to beat their opponent before the other side beat theirs, with the losing 4 being eliminated.

* * *

Meanwhile, a team of General Zod, Joker, Sinestro and Grundy were fighting Doomsday. Sinestro and Zod were taking the brunt of the workload, whilst Joker was setting traps around the battlefield. Grundy was momentarily distracted by a passing butterfly which had landed on a bench. He stood there, gazing at the brightly coloured lepidopteron specimen, as it balanced on the armrest of the bench. Grundy briefly smiled before the bench was crushed under the weight of Doomsday, who was thrown into it by Zod. He felt that bitter sting of heartbreak that reminded him how human he really was. He then quickly got angry and jumped onto Doomsday and started pounding away at his face.

"YOU KILL GRUNDY'S FLUTTERBY!" He said as he attempted to demolish Doomsday's head. He went to thrown one more punch which was caught by Doomsday, who had barely a scratch, and Grundy was then head butted with the strength of a kryptonian and sent flying into the distance. As Doomsday stood up, he was sent stumbling backwards by a flying kick from Zod. In doing so, he then stepped on one of Joker's mines. Instead of exploding, it sent up electricity to shock him into submission.

"I think you should pull the plug on this fight!" Joker laughed, as he dusted his hands triumphantly. As Doomsday knelt down in pain, Sinestro went over to finish the job. As he swung his hand up and created an anvil to drop on him, Doomsday shot up and grabbed Sinestro by the neck. Using his other hand, he took Sinestro's left hand and squeezed it until all the bones shattered. The screaming that followed even made Joker wince. Doomsday then threw Sinestro aside, knocking him out and then turned to his remaining 3 opponents.

* * *

Back with the heroes, Flash was running rings around Mongul. Literally. He was speeding up to the point where Mongul was beginning to stop breathing. However, Mongul picked up the strength to swing an arm wildly into Flash's path, clotheslining him and taking him out of the equation. Wonder Woman threw Nightwing to give him some more momentum as he flipped over Mongul and kicked him in the back of the head. As he landed, he used the electric end of his staff to zap Mongul in the back of the leg. As Mongul knelt down, he felt another zap in his shoulder, then his back, then the back of his head.

"I HAVE HAD ABOUT ENOUGH OF THAT THING!" He said, shooting up and grabbing Nightwing. He held Nightwing by the throat and took the staff from his hand. "I have an idea for my own elimination." He said with a smile, as he drove the staff deep into Nightwing's chest. As the flesh in his back parted with the force of the staff, Nightwing tried to muster up a cry, but no words were spoken. Crippled by the pain, his body started having spasms.

"Nightwing!" Hal shouted as he and Wonder Woman rushed over. Wonder Woman tackled Mongul away whereas Hal caught Nightwing as he fell and held him in his arms. "It's going to be alright, Richard, don't worry." Hal franticly looked around for any sort of help; Flash was still unconscious, Wonder Woman was reshaping Mongul's face and no one else was around.

"You..." Nightwing tried to speak, "know... I...hate...being...called...that..." He showed a weak smile, but a smile nonetheless. "Tell...Bruce..." he strained again with pain, "I'm sorry." As he said it, the colour rapidly left his face and his eyes seemed to darken. A few spasms and his body went limp. Hal's face contorted and he laid down Nightwing's body. He then shot up to help Wonder Woman. '_How's Bruce going to take this?'_ He wondered.

* * *

Elsewhere, the villains were on a losing streak; Sinestro was down, Joker was missing and Grundy was just plain stupid, so Zod was doing all the work. He was losing.

"Will any of you please give me some backup here?" He shouted, dodging wave after wave of furious attacks from Doomsday. Zod jumped back to avoid a haymaker and then Doomsday leapt into the air and aimed a fist directly at Zod's chest. Just before he landed it, he was hit in the side with a large boxing glove, made out of hard yellow light. Zod turned to see Joker floating in mid-air and wielding Sinestro's power ring.

"I like this doohicky" he cackled. He picked up Doomsday in a hard light bubble and brought him closer. "Consider yourself popped." He then crushed Doomsday inside the bubble. "We won!" he said, cheering and fist pumping.

"About time." Zod said, folding his arms. Over with the heroes, Wonder Woman was about to throw a final, knockout punch when they froze. Darkseid's voice boomed around the battlefield.

"The Villains have one. Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash. You are eliminated. I shall leave Nightwing's body as a courtesy."

* * *

"WHAT?" Batman said, turning to the monitor, back in the bunker. His face dropped. It was probably the first time any of the heroes, bar Superman, had seen Batman show any emotion other than anger. He had to lean against the wall, in case he fell over. He didn't make eye contact with anyone; he just looked at the floor. All he could was whisper softy. "No."

* * *

_A/N: So there's round 5! Hope that wasn't too much heartbreak for you! I think I'll add in a short segment on Batman's internal thoughts in the next chapter. Thanks for reading and I'll see you next time. As always- PLEASE REVIEW!_


	8. Division of Grief

_A/N: So I'm back again! Nothing really to say here, just that I hope you enjoy this round and that you continue to read! As always; PLEASE REVIEW!_

* * *

Throughout the entire night, Batman was silent. He went outside the bunker soon after the news about Nightwing was heard. Superman had tried to console him, but Batman just carried on, as if he wasn't there. Ever since he set out to be the scourge of crime in Gotham, his mind had been organised, focussed and clear. For the second time in Bruce's life, he didn't know what to do. Losing Jason was one thing, and at least he was resurrected, but here; there may be no hope of escape. Dick was his first Robin. To Bruce, Dick was the closest thing he had to a son. (_A/N: That's a clue to the time period I'm going for here.) _And now Richard Grayson is gone. And so, standing alone on a rooftop, looking out into the wasteland, Batman mustered up the courage to say;

"No more." He felt his face tense with pain, but he did not cry.

"No more what?"Said J'onn behind him. Batman turned around to see the Martian sitting on an air vent. Batman simply stared at him, his stoic expression slowly returning. "I said: no more what?" J'onn said again. Batman once again chose not to respond. "I know how hard it is to lose someone you care about. I lost my entire race, just like Clark." Batman folded his arms.

"Are you trying to make my problem seem insignificant?"

"No! I just..." J'onn sighed, "I just want you to know that you are not alone. The pain hurts, I know, it burns. You've lost your parents and now your adopted son, there's no way that you're not feeling that agony." Batman gave the smallest of nods. "But right now, we need to focus on Darkseid. He must not achieve whatever it is that he is after. We all know this isn't just for his fun."

"I'm not sure he is capable of fun." Batman said. "We should probably get back in time for the next round."

* * *

When morning arose, so did Darkseid's challenge for that day.  
"Your challenge today will be mixed gender 2v2 elimination. The first pair to be knocked unconscious wins. Heroes, with Zatanna being your only female combatant, she will be joining Batman in the battlefield." Batman stood up. He wasn't surprised; this was his first battle in a while. "Villains, Star Sapphire and Grodd are selected. Begin!" The two villains headed out the door and made their way to the central battle arena. This time, the arena had been fitted with a full barrier around it. It was almost a full sporting arena if it weren't for the fact that it was crudely made out of the rubble of a destroyed city. As all four combatants entered the arena from their respective sides, they each took time to talk tactics.

"So how are we going to do this?" Zatanna said. Batman didn't even look at her.

"You take Sapphire, I'll handle Grodd." He replied.

"I wouldn't piss off Batman if I were you; you know what happened to Nightwing. He might be angry." Star Sapphire said.

"Really? And here I was thinking I was the genius." Grodd replied with whimsical sarcasm. It was Zatanna who made the first move, stepping forward and readying herself.  
"Llaberif" she said as she hurled a swarm of fire at Star Sapphire, who dodged and flew up into the air, Zatanna chasing after. Grodd, meanwhile, merely walked up to Batman.

"I don't really want to fight you. I have children. I know the fear of losing them and I can't imagine how you're feeling now that it's actually happened to you. You have my deepest condolences."

"Thank you" Batman replied. Even though he was surprised at the sentimentality of Grodd's words, he didn't change his expression. Grodd held out his hand, ushering Batman to shake. Batman hesitated for a considerable moment, just long enough to make it awkward. He reluctantly reached out to shake Grodd's hand. As he clasped around the gargantuan limb of Grodd, he was pulled in and clothes-lined by Grodd's huge, muscled arm. He back flipped just quickly enough to land on his feet, and turned around, gritting his teeth and face contorted in anger.

"I really do feel sorry for you Batman, but we can't forget why we're in this arena." Grodd said, shrugging his shoulders. Batman rushed towards him, aiming a right handed punch. Just as Grodd was about to grab it, Batman slid underneath Grodd, through his legs, and put a bat-claw straight into Grodd's ankle. He screamed with pain as Batman stood up and pulled on the rope, yanking Grodd forwards as his leg went up. Batman then tied the rope around a boulder and walked slowly over to Grodd's head.  
"This is really going to hurt." He said.

Back with Zatanna and Sapphire, Zatanna had Sapphire caught in a ball of ice. Sapphire's attempts to get out were failing, and more importantly, she was losing air.  
"Come on, Z. Let me out?" Sapphire said.

"And make it easy for you? No way, sister!" Zatanna replied. As the bubble grew smaller, Sapphire started to feel the pressure. Moments later, he head was resting on the bottom. Zatanna released the bubble and just as she did, Sapphire leapt into action, landing a right cross on Zatanna, knocking her out instantly and sent her falling 15 feet to the ground. Batman heard the thud she made, turning around, still gripping Grodd in the arm-lock.

"Brilliant." He rolled his eyes under his cowl. Grodd forced himself out of the lock while Batman was distracted. As he pulled himself onto his feet, he clutched his ankle, trying to pull the claw out from his flesh. Batman advanced towards him, but he was spotted by Star Sapphire, who shot a beam of violet light at him. In one swift move, Batman kicked Grodd in the temple, putting him out for the fight, and dodged the beam of light but using Grodd to pull himself away.

"Just you and me, Batman" Sapphire said. She threw a set of violet beams at him, to which we dodged them all acrobatically. On the last beam, he threw a batarang midair towards her. She caught it just before it hit her power ring. "Oh come on. You got anything better than that?"

Without saying a word, Batman stood up, nodded at her and walked back towards the entrance to the arena. He let out a small smile as he heard the explosion and following thud on the ground.

* * *

_A/N: So that's the next chapter done! Hope you enjoyed it. I'm planning to do a chapter at some point that looks at the heroes who aren't trapped in Gotham. I already have a few in mind but if you want some specific heroes (or villains) then just PM me or leave it in a review! Thanks as always. PLEASE REVIEW!_


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